Cul de Sac's Richard Thompson voted Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year

CUL DE SAC/RICHARD THOMPSON (UNIVERSAL UCLICK)

Richard Thompson, creator of the comic strip "Cul de Sac", has won the Rueben Award, given to the outstanding cartoonist of the year by the National Cartoonist Society.  It's been no secret that Thompson, whose strip runs daily in The Charlotte Observer, is considered a cartoonist's cartoonist by many in the industry -- this well-deserved award makes it official.

To see a list of past winners, and to see the other cartoonists that won in their respective categories at this year's NCS annual awards banquet, check out the National Cartoonists Society website.

Thompson is coming to Charlotte this weekend, one of the many invited cartoonists attending HeroesCon 2011, the huge comic book convention in uptown Charlotte June 3,4 and 5.  In addition to the traditional focus on comic book art and creators, this year's convention will also feature an exhibit of original newspaper comic strip art entitled "One Fine Sunday in the Funny Pages."  You can read more about the exhibit in this recent Observer story.

And if you want to read more about Thompson, Cul de Sac, and the state of the comics today, here's a link to a Washington Post magazine story about Thompson, his art, and his struggle with Parkinsons.